Chapter Thirteen

My parents looked up at me as I came into the kitchen. My dad gave me a warm smile. “Hi there my Maggie girl.” I looked at mom and tried not to shrivel under the dark look she gave me. So, she wasn't going to tell my dad about Clay being in my room, but I guessed that didn't mean I wouldn't be punished in other ways. Like being slowly tortured by her evil eye.

“Get a plate and get some cheese wantons before your mother eats them all.” My dad joked, earning him a pinch in the arm from my mom. “You make me sound like a gluttonous pig, Martin.” She sounded annoyed. Though I knew her bad mood had nothing to do with my dad and everything to do with me.

I opened the refrigerator and pulled out a soda. “Why don't you drink some milk or water instead of that syrupy junk.” My mom said sharply. I saw the look my dad shot her. He was confused about her apparent irritation with me. Normally I would have argued, but I recognized that would have been the wrong move. So I put the soda back and instead got a glass from the cabinet.

Filling it with water from the tap, I came and sat at the kitchen table. My dad moved the cartons of Lo Mein and Sweet and Sour Chicken so I had room for my plate. “So how was school today?” My dad asked brightly. I shot a glance at my mother, but she was looking at her phone, checking emails.

“Good. I got an A minus on my English Lit project.” I reported, trying to ease the tension in the room. My dad patted my hand. “Wonderful, Maggie. You take after your ol' dad, smart and beautiful.” I couldn't help but smile at my dad's compliment and it made me feel even worse for being deceitful. My mom looked up from her phone. “Yes. But book smarts doesn't replace common sense, wouldn't you say? Good decision- making is important. Right, Maggie?” She asked me pointedly.

Great. I was going to have to suffer through a conversation laden with double meaning in the hopes my dad wouldn't catch on. I only nodded and stuffed my mouth with a piece of chicken. My dad scooped more Lo Mein onto his plate and tried to take the wanton from my mom. She moved it out of his way and smiled. She could never stay irritated with my father for long. They were kind of beautiful like that.

“Nice try, Martin.” She said. My dad laughed and returned to his own food. We ate in silence for awhile. It was awkward, but better than having to make fake small talk. Finally my dad asked me, “Do you have any cool plans for Thanksgiving break? You and the crew doing anything epic?” I choked on my rice. “Cool? Crew? Epic? Have you been reading the urban dictionary again, dad? Trying to get in touch with the youth and all that?” I teased. My dad chuckled. “Hey. I'm hip. I'm down with the young folk.” He tried throwing a really horrible hip hop sign with his hands. I was in hysterics. “Enough! I can't take it!”

My dad looked pleased that he had broken through the unbearable tension between us. My mom even laughed. Things relaxed a bit after that and I tentatively answered my father's question. I knew I could never tell them we all planned to go to Clay's cabin for the night. So I had to come up with a story quickly that would cover my tracks. One they would never question.

“Well, Rachel asked me to spend the night on Saturday. She wants a full on girl's day. You know get pedicures, go see that new Brad Pitt movie. We haven't spent a whole lot of time together lately.” My dad swallowed his food and nodded. “Sounds like fun. Can I come? I could use a new coat of polish on my toe nails.” I just shook my head, smiling at him.

My mom was quiet. “I haven't seen much of Rachel and Daniel lately. You've been spending so much time with Clayton. I miss seeing them.” Oh crap, here we go. My dad looked thoughtful, never a good sign. “That's true, Maggie. You haven't gone out with any of your friends in awhile. You know, it's not good to spend all of your time with Clay. It's just not healthy to isolate yourself like that.” My dad commented.

I felt my blood pressure start to rise and I immediately became defensive. “I see them every day, Dad! It's not like Clay and I sequester ourselves off and never talk to anyone else. Jeez!” My voice was loud and I saw the surprised look on my father's face. But I was quickly getting tired of catching slack for my relationship with Clay.

“We're just worried, sweetie.” My dad said gently. I threw my hands up in the air. “What do you have to be worried about for goodness sake? My grades are still good, I've yet to break my curfew. I don't think I'm that bad of a kid.” I looked straight at my mom when I said that, daring her to refute me. She frowned. “No one's saying you're a bad kid, Maggie. Calm down. “ There's something about those words “calm down”, that make me anything but. My anger spiked. “This is freaking ridiculous.” I muttered, throwing my fork down.

“This is what we're talking about! You're completely irrational when it comes to that boy. You've become entirely too focused on him and less on other facets of your life.” My mom barked, sending me to my feet. “You have no idea what you're talking about. I love him. We are good together.”

My dad's face turned a funny shade of purple. “Love him? You are seventeen years old! You don't know what love is!” Great, now my dad was getting mad. I was making this worse. My mom put a hand on my dad's arm. “This isn't love, Maggie May. This is obsession and it's not healthy. You are so worked up over a high school relationship that most likely won't last but a few months. Don't be so immature.” My mom said hurtfully. Wow, she was going for the jugular. I've never known her to be this harsh.